Bluebirdbaby

home.

our lives have been very full lately. full of this and that, good and bad, easy and hard, fun and work, laughs and tears...all things that remind us that we are human. life is a mix of everything, because it's, well...life. and really, who would want it any other way?

we're so very busy at the moment, and finding a time to just breathe and relax can be challenging. tonight we're working in the studio before a very long day tomorrow (the little one has her first opening at a gallery!) and looking forward to a rainy weekend that may just slow us down a bit.

i captured these images from around the house earlier in the week. somehow just looking at them makes me slow down, take a deep breath, and relax.

what are you up to this weekend, friends?

a busy weekend

don't forget!!! the next creative photography e-course starts TOMORROW! sign up here now!!

 

we had a very busy weekend! planting fruits trees, hauling alpaca manure for the raised beds, going out to our favorite little spot to grab a drink, ballet pictures before the big recital, writing books, movie night with a buffet of our favorites, planting our first greens, and ending it all with smores before starting our very busy week.

what did you do?!

weekending

well, we had a full and fabulous weekend here. we got a lot done around the house, but also managed to get out exploring both days. we went to some thrift shops saturday where i scored some great clothes and even found my heels for the wedding. we walked around one of our favorite towns and explored some new shops we fell in love with. ended our adventure with stopping for a treat (an affagato) at the best little gelato place.

then a lovely sunday morning complete with sleeping in, a 6 mile run, then bacon and espresso (our new morning favorite!). we re-painted the kitchen floor and headed out for drinks and apps at our favorite place while it dried, made our guest list for our wedding and started brainstorming our save the dates.

such a full weekend! what did you do?

 

the storm

well, i refuse to refer to this storm as "nemo" because all it reminds me of is a cute little fish, and this was anything but a cute little fish. we woke up to 4 feet of snow in most places. the wind was so intense that it made huge snowdrifts around the church. our front door was partially covered this morning. what fun!

we shoveled for about three hours. we mostly felt house-bound and decided to make the best of it. more bacon (always) and tea. sewing for me, painting for him (he painted the stair doors black!), a movie for her. we are almost out of food so dinner was interesting (hello kale and all the ways i never thought i could cook you!) and luckily i made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies yesterday. i bake a lot for those two.

luckily the snow was light and fluffy, which made shoveling not such a complete horror. she made a snow cave (and i was such a mom not letting her go all the way in...she had to have her head sticking out at ALL times) and we made snow mountain slides. there's a pile next to the car that's at least 9 feet high. and the subaru was buried. the snow was all too deep for her to walk in. it was rather hilarious! poor wee thing.

so yea...nemo?! really?! i would have called it something more like "king kong" but that's just me...

 

a blizzard

well, the blizzard started today. it's hitting us pretty slowly, but school was canceled and mark stayed home from work. so we had a day all together, and we have nothing to complain about a three day weekend!

the winds are picking up (hurricane force, really?!) and we're preparing for the bulk of the snow tonight. tomorrow we will have to shovel out so we can eventually leave the house, and there will likely be snow fort making and snowball fights. then mark and i are headed out someplace fancy for a special night out on the town.

but here's a little glimpse at our snow day...

morning puzzles. she started this before we had the bacon going. she also had her running shoes on. she brought them to our bed, woke us up, and said, "I'm ready to run on the treadmill!" (and she ran...for about 30 minutes...)

morning grinding of the beans. every morning. sometimes i hear it from upstairs and i swear i can smell it too.

morning reads. she still loves some of the same books i read her over and over again as a wee toddler.

it's a blizzard out there. snowy and windy. very pretty. i love watching the snow fall outside of our tall windows. i feel like we're in a snowglobe.

bacon and eggs. he made bacon this morning. i made a "toad in the hole" for her. i had my tea, he had his coffee, she had her tea. we feasted on the best snowday breakfast ever.

him. cutest kitty ever. he also likes to pose for the camera. he likes to sit in my seat in front of the heater and get warm.

horse play in her room.

she learned how to knit in school. she's knitting me a scarf (love!).

we had one of her very best friends over for afternoon play. they filled the living room with toys and adventures. i fed them crackers and cheese and hummus and hot chocolate.

he wore a vest his mama knit him. i told him he looked like charlie brown and was wicked cute. then i kissed him. the little one thinks it's absolutely hilarious when we kiss.

we hung his latest piece. he painted me.

dinner was moose chili (seriously) and a glass of wine. we ate by candlelight and talked about our day.

then, inevitably it's cleanup. sometimes we battle each other over who does the dishes. it's comical. he always says, "you cooked! let me clean!" and i always say, "who cares! i love to cook! go paint! i'll clean up." but he tells me to get lost and cleans up. then i take pictures of him doing it....

now we're painting up in the studio. he's working on a huge piece. i'm finishing up a small one. we'll soon head to bed knowing we'll wake up to even more of a winter wonderland outside. there will be bacon (again) and coffee and tea, and we will settle into another mellow day.

happy weekend, friends! what are your plans?!

sunday.

 

our sunday was full of

good food,

breakfast in bed,

lots of photos from lots of different cameras,

a really cold walk,

swinging in the snow,

more picture hanging,

and a really lovely evening with candle light, a yummy dinner, and a nice bottle of wine.

 

how was your weekend?!

xoxo

e, m, and e

from that day

it's friday. i'm home alone working all day, as usual. m is off to work, the little one is off at school. and i miss them so.

i stumbled upon these images from the day i closed on the church last october. the little one took the series of us. i love it, although now i have no idea what we were laughing at!

 

happy weekend, friends! what are your plans?

my mornings

weekday mornings are somehow pretty leisurely. with him going off to work and the little one going off to school, we still manage to lounge in bed a bit, make breakfast, slowly sip coffee, and talk about the day ahead.

then i make lunches, say my goodbyes, go for a run, come back and settle in for a day of work.

this is my morning in pictures...

first cup, with them. he makes coffee, i make breakfast. she runs around the house doing all sorts of 6 year oldish things.

i love sitting at the table and seeing the light streaming in. sometimes i linger after they are gone and take it all in. as a photographer, light is incredibly beautiful to me and i appreciate it so much.

i say goodbye. hugs and kisses. and then more again. they leave. now it's time for my run. 3 or 6 miles today? depends on the cold.

back to shower. my second cup comes upstairs with me while i get ready for the day.

i'm so low on clothes. i got rid of so many when i lived in the studio because of space. i need some really good basics. what are your favorite clothing companies? you'll find me in jeans and a v-neck. pretty much everyday.

breakfast, finally. sometimes i end up eating it around 11. i went paleo a couple of weeks back (i was having major stomach issues that landed me in the hospital a few times in the past couple of months and giving up grains and sugars cured it!) and have never felt better. i eat tons of fat and protein and greens at every meal. this is my favorite breakfast now: eggs, avocado, and hot sauce.

and then work. all day. i love it.

 

what do your mornings look like? do a similar post on your blog and share the link here in the comments section!

xo

in the studio at, night

we work. every night. in the studio.

he and i.

have a happy wednesday!

xo

a weekend

"it begins with an unmistakable thump, or is that a bump? no, rather the thunderous stomping of a child heading towards our bedroom. OMG! cover up, nah, too late for that. on the stroke of eight, e heads our way. full steam ahead.

our weekends are filled with art making. not the crafty stuff but rather full-blown, certifiable art making. mostly we steal each other's ideas. painting, yep, that's the thing for us. we have wonderful meals during our days fueling not only our bodies but our minds, crowded with new ideas.

we dance, we listen to not only the music of our hearts but also a myriad of recorded stuff.

evening comes far too soon. stories, puppetry, odd behavior on everyone's part ushers in e's sleep.

after her sleep is assured it is now the adult entertainment zone. studio time and creative dialogue between us ensues. we anticipate our time together in bed. the end of some things. the beginning of others.

then, without a sense of time, the thundering steps are heard again." -Mark's words on our weekends together.

man, we live for our weekends. time together. no rushing, no plans. we wake up late, eat lots of good food, make art, take photographs, go on adventures. it's all very lovely.

we've made it a habit to do a meal plan for the week every saturday morning, then we all head to town for a big shop. it makes the week so much easier. we also visit the laundromat (which is always an adventure in itself) and often stop for a cup of coffee and some baked goods at our favorite place.

this weekend we enjoyed lots...here's a peek!

saturday morning play. for some reason she insists on dragging all her toys out into the dining room. it creates quite the mess, but she certainly enjoys herself!

we picked up the fedco catalog yesterday at the co-op. i've been dreaming about the gardens we will put in this spring. lots of raised beds, a lot of crazy giant unique perennials, fruit trees, chickens, and more! i am so excited!

one of my favorite views is looking from the dining room table into her room. she has the most magical room ever.

the little one is learning to read and it's so much fun hearing her sound out words.

while i cooked dinner on saturday night, these two were busy at the table doing projects.

dinner. shrimp (the little one's favorite) with pesto and pasta and chard.

saturday morning pre-breakfast.

we always have sunday morning pancakes. my secret ingredient? cinnamon. they are always a hit.

sunday morning play.

hanging the little one and mark's collaborative work in the dining room.

snowman making and cutting homosote for more paintings.

 

and now, i've got a chicken to roast in the oven and brussel sprouts to fry and a glass of wine waiting for me and two people i love more than i could possibly say ready to play a game.

happy weekend, friends.

xoxo

 

 

around home

okay, i heard you all...the house! you want to see more of the house! yea, things have been moving at SUCH a fast pace here and well, it's not all done yet.

the church is beginning to be more us. there was so much painting to do (i won't even tell you what that bill was, but i didn't know it was possible to even use that much paint...) and with the holidays we got a little behind. there's still a few walls to finish up and a bathroom to paint. but being artists it was pretty funny having all this wall space with nothing hanging on it.

we enjoyed the blank space for a while and then we woke up one morning and said enough! so we hung some art (some ours, some not) and moved some furniture around. it felt good. the dining room is filled with framed work from various artists. we're waiting on one of m's big paintings that's in a gallery right now to join on the other wall.

the living room is such a big space and with 19' ceilings we can hang a LOT of work.

m surprised me by hanging my latest ink sketches.

the outside of our gigantic front door is painted "adobe orange" which is a color i picked out for my old studio door too. i just love it. super cheery. we decided to paint the back of the door and window sash above black and i am so happy we did! it looks great with the brass hardware.

and there's the shelving and baskets m put up in the mudroom with his bird head over it that greets us everytime we walk down the stairs.

the studio is probably the most utilized room in the whole place. the little one is constantly painting up here while we do our thing. her little corner is full of supplies and her own artwork that she gets to change as she pleases.

so there it is...a little more of this space here. we're looking forward to finishing up the painting and hosting our "house warming" party!

happy thursday!! xo

 

scenes from december

images i shot in december and never had a change to upload until now.

enjoy!

 

have a happy weekend and i'll be back with this year's challenge early next week! xo

ring it in

we rang in the new year with our first official party at the new place. it was mellow and just what we were hoping for.

good friends, good food, good drinks, good music.

we followed it with an annual brunch in town, a long walk, then back home to snuggle in and read while m painted the door.

the snow is piled high outside and it officially feels like winter, although we are already itching for spring and garden plans.

now we're up in the studio. he's working on his latest painting, i'm editing photos. we'll open another bottle of champagne in a bit, sit down at the table and write our plans for the new year. we have many. hopes, dreams, goals...lots of things to manifest. we'll make a big poster of it all for above each of our work desks.

this year has been one of the hardest and one of the best in my entire life. i lost a love that was so dear to me, i lost a home, i gained a love, i gained a home. it's been a wild ride. it took me from a home i so lovingly created to a two room studio with no shower or bathtub (that's right...that galvanized tub was more than just for kicks), a make-shift kitchen with hot water that lasted only 4 minutes at a time, a hot plate and toaster oven, a mini fridge that couldn't even fit a full sized bottle of orange juice. i sold many valuable possessions, some for the money and some just because i had no room for them. i learned the difference between what is important and what really doesn't matter. and the things that are important are few. they are the ones you love. possessions mean nothing.

i found the man i will now marry and a love blossomed in that crazy little place on the river. i showed the little one that in the face of adversary, if you work hard enough and push through the things that could get you down, you can do anything. i started with nothing at the beginning of this year. no money, no home. i worked so hard. she would always say, "Mama, do you remember when this was just an office? And now look...you made it a home."

m is constantly in awe of how i could go from nothing to this. he is always telling me that what i did verged on impossible. i mean, really...how did i do this? how did i go from nothing to buying a church all by myself? but that's what 2012 has been for me. full of hard work that has paid off. in every area of my life.

i'm sad to see it go, but i'm excited for this coming year. the hard work is somewhat behind us. we've arrived. now the fun work begins.

which leads me to my newest project for the year to share with you all. more on that in a bit. we've had 30 days of beauty, a year of choice, and now i've got something else up my sleeve. stay tuned.

happy new year, my friends! xoxo

in the studio

we're setting up the studio tonight.

i brainstormed today. working on a new site. getting film developed and personal portfolio stuff done.

he arranged his painting area. we drank wine and ate our favorite cheese. we talked about my upcoming darkroom.

now we're running between floors cooking salmon, editing photos, listening to tunes, and designing logos. i can hear him whistling downstairs while he chops garlic.

we're pretty good at this multi-tasking.

how are you spending your sunday night? xo

just everything

i haven't quite figured out just how to do it all. but i always try. there are many roles to play...mother, lover, friend, employee, business owner, housekeeper, artist, and the list goes on...

for some reason i keep thinking life will eventually slow down and all of the things i've been wanting to do will finally be possible. but the one thing i keep realizing is that the older i get, the faster time goes, and the more stuff accumulates on my plate.

and now, here i am with a man with the same dreams and hopes and visions by my side, and we look at each other at end of the day and laugh at our completely crazy, full, nutty and nevertheless wonderful life. and we wonder how we are ever going to get to it; the life we are craving to live.

but then, perhaps this is it. perhaps this is an entire accumulation of everything we want, hope for, and need. and perhaps it's just all spread out into bits and pieces so that we can do it all and more.

tonight we will dream and hope, figuring out how to squeeze just a little bit more in while still remembering to breathe through all that we already have.

i guess that's life. and well, we are pretty lucky, indeed.

 

little bits

 

saturday night and sunday morning...

a weekend

a hodge podge of photos from our weekend.

there were many, many trips back and forth to town. picking up this, moving that, forgetting this, remembering that.

there were meals to be cooked and enjoyed. the table seems to be our favorite spot.

there were books unpacked and hours of reading by someone who has just learned how to put letters together to form words.

there was coffee in bed and then more at breakfast.

the garden got its first pruning for the winter ahead while a giggly little butterfly kept us company.

violins were practiced.

kitties finally started venturing downstairs.

and we got really creative with all of the empty boxes lying around.

 

what did you do this weekend?

 

a morning

another full day here.

my work space is up and running here so my days are once again spent at home.

i find myself wandering through the big space just looking.

there's more painting to do this weekend. mark is setting up his painting studio and i'm so excited to see what work we create here together.

the little one is settling in with all her new play spaces.

so much change, so many adjustments, but it's all coming together.

settling in is such a nice thing...

what are your plans for the weekend?

a snowy morning

we woke up to snow this morning.

it felt like a whole new world.

we snuggled under the covers with mugs of tea and listened to the plows go by.

i made a spinach, pesto, goat cheese omelette and cleared off the table from last night's company.

we ate, lingered at the table chatting for a while, then parted ways for the day.

the space is slowing filling. the studio is next to unpack. we are setting up the shower today. the walls will be finished this weekend. stairs are next.

tonight it's homemade chicken soup, a loaf of bread fresh from the oven, and a mug of hot cocoa.

what are you doing tonight? xoxo

 

life goes on

settling in. trying to function with even less of a make-shift kitchen than i was used to.

no shower yet, but our giant clawfoot tub is in. took my first bath this morning.

no internet for a few days, so i'm coming into town to my old space to work. i realized i really like going to work and then coming home at the end of the day. not having work stare me in the face all day/night long. i was always multi-tasking...work and daily life. now i'm coming up with a way to continue affording this space so i can work in town. hmnn...

i'm enjoying the light in the new space. all times of the day. it's beautiful.

here are some corners for you to peek at.

xoxo.

we're in

taken this morning. our first morning there. slowly but surely this place is coming together. so much more painting to do...

i slept from 11:30-2 a.m. and then was up. so much change. it's all good, but so different.

can't wait to share more...

happy weekend, friends. xoxo

getting there...

our days have been filled with paint, packing, moving, paperwork, road trips (thanks to Craigslist!), and more painting.

i am rushing to be out by the 1st. the floors require five coats of paint. the walls require two. the trim two. we've done most of the floors now. walls and trim are next. it is all very exciting. such a switch from living in a 2 room studio.

there's one more day to enter the giveaway for the Eyes Open e-course! good luck! xoxo

a peek

just a quick peek at the inside. everything is being painted. every surface of that place. it's a big undertaking and we're scrambling to get it done in the next two weeks.

it's a pretty neat space and the little one seems just about overjoyed by it all. so good to see...

 

more soon, friends. thank you for all your kind words. what lovely things to read after working all day. so glad to be sharing this journey with you all...xoxo